"Rock the Boat Is a Song About Strapping" by Brittany Rogers
Rock the Boat Is a Song About Strapping
after m. mick powell According to my Pastor, who I, like a fool, mistook for the voice of God, calling me by name. Of course, “strapping” was too vulgar a term for her holy mouth, though she called Aaliyah everything but her name, and me, funny, for watching a woman dancing with women. Their bodies whisper close. Not a man in sight. I want to name that I’m embarrassed to tell you this: I let the knife of her stare stop my hips from rocking. Nodded as she named my litany of sins. Unnatural. Ungodly. In my own home, I changed the channel. There is a name for the type of lie I told with my mouth closed. For what I pretended to not know as clearly as my own name. Appears in Good Dress (Tinhouse, 2024)
Audio: Brittany Rogers reads “Rock the Boat Is a Song About Strapping”
Photo Credit: Beowulf Sheehan
Brittany Rogers is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and lifelong Detroiter. Her poems and essays have been published widely, including the Academy of American Poets, Lit Hub, The Hopkins Review, Lambda Literary, and Oprah Daily. Her visual art has been displayed at Urban Arts Space and WOMXNHOUSE Detroit. She is Editor-in-Chief of Muzzle Magazine, former co-host of VS Podcast, and author of the poetry collection Good Dress (Tin House, 2024), a 2025 Michigan Notable Book, and finalist for the NAACP Image Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry, amongst others. Brittany is a 2026 Whiting Award Winner. Learn more at www.brittanyrogers.org or @Brittanyerogers on Instagram.